Old College Try
Old College Try is the 12th song on the album Tallahassee. It was performed by Mosaic in Tallahassee Turns Ten. Lyrics From the housetops to the gutters From the ocean to the shore The warning signs have all been bright and garish Far too great in number to ignore From the cities to the swamplands From the highways to the hills Our love has never had a leg to stand on From the aspirins to the cross-tops to the Elavils But I will walk down to the end with you If you will come all the way down with me From the entrance to the exit Is longer than it looks from where we stand I want to say I'm sorry for stuff I haven't done yet Things will shortly get completely out of hand I can feel it in the rotten air tonight In the tips of my fingers In the skin on my face In the weak last gasp of the evening's dying light In the way those eyes I've always loved illuminate this place Like a trashcan fire in a prison cell Like the searchlights in the parking lots of hell I will walk down to the end with you If you will come all the way down with me Comments by John Darnielle About this Song *"This was the first song I wrote for Tallahassee." -- 2005-07-02 - Old American Can Factory - Brooklyn, NY *"This is a song which I wrote for the people who are in love, and, and -- yeah. Because sometimes you're in love and then you know, you get a feeling. But it's a different feeling. It's a feeling of doom. And then you say to yourself, 'Oh, I'm just worrying, I'm just a person who worries, there really is nothing wrong'... But then, there's the reasonable voice that's saying, 'No, no, there's really no doom just around the corner, lurking in a big old suit, getting ready to claw out everybody's eyes. That's irrational.' Right? And then the part of you, the more spiritual part that always has a lock on the truth, says, 'Oh no, something very, very bad is going to happen.'" -- 2005-10-29 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *"This is a song about looking into the eyes of your beloved and saying 'Let's have a staring contest'." -- 2009-10-10 - Queen Elizabeth Hall - London, England Things Referenced in this Song Cross-tops are tablets of amphetamine. Elavil is an antidepressant medication. Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2002-10-09 - Radio Na Life Session - Dublin, Ireland (partial) *2003-02-05 - Hanbury Ballroom - Brighton, England *2004-07-17 - Benefit for Piedmont Wildlife Center - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC *2004-08-20 - Durham Music Festival - Durham Armory - Durham, NC *2005-03-25 - Rubber Gloves - Denton, TX *2005-05-03 - The Black Cat - Washington, D.C. *2005-06-18 - China Clipper - Olympia, WA *2005-06-19 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA *2005-06-20 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR *2005-06-21 - WOW Hall - Eugene, OR *2005-06-23 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA *2005-07-02 - Old American Can Factory - Brooklyn, NY *2005-10-13 - Open End Gallery - Chicago, IL *2005-10-20 - Uptown Theatre - Washington, PA *2005-10-27 - Remis Auditorium - Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA *2005-10-29 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2006-09-26 - Middle East Downstairs - Cambridge, MA *2007-06-16 - Zoop - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY *2007-07-22 - Rhino Records - Claremont, CA *2007-09-21 - Sonar - Baltimore, MD *2007-09-25 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, Ontario *2007-09-27 - Rex Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA *2007-10-02 - Studio B - Brooklyn, NY *2007-11-29 - NYU Kimmel Center - New York, NY *2007-12-10 - Oran Mor - Glasgow, Scotland *2009-03-18 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC *2009-03-26 - Donovan's Pub at Colgate University - Hamilton, NY *2009-03-30 - Oberlin College - Oberlin, OH *2009-10-10 - Queen Elizabeth Hall - London, England *2009-11-04 - Ladies Literary Club - Calvin College - Grand Rapids, MI *2009-11-06 - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI *2009-11-11 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR *2009-11-14 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2009-11-15 - Henry Fonda Theater - Los Angeles, CA *2009-11-18 - Antones - Austin, TX *2009-11-19 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX *2009-11-20 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN *2009-11-27 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2009-11-28 - Theater of the Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA *2009-11-29 - Wilbur Theatre - Boston, MA *2009-12-01 - Webster Hall - New York, NY *2009-12-02 - Bell House - Brooklyn, NY *2010-03-11 - Memorial Union Building - University of New Hampshire - Durham, NH *2010-04-11 - The Zoo - Brisbane, Australia *2010-04-13 - Manning Bar - Sydney, Australia *2010-04-14 - The Corner Hotel - Melbourne, Australia *2010-04-18 - The Rosemount Hotel - Perth, Australia *2010-06-05 - The Badlander - Missoula, MT *2010-06-12 - Blue Moose Tap House - Iowa City, IA *2010-06-16 - Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT *2010-08-28 - Music for Fences - Durham Central Park - Durham, NC *2010-09-04 - FYF Fest - Los Angeles State Historic Park - Los Angeles, CA *2010-09-09 - Koko - London, England *2010-09-10 - End of the Road Festival - Salisbury, England *2010-10-04 - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS *2010-10-05 - The Blue Note - Columbia, MO *2010-10-06 - Academy of Contemporary Music @ UCO - Oklahoma City, OK *2010-10-08 - Austin City Limits Festival - Austin, TX *2010-12-17 - Brome for the Holidays - King's Barcade - Raleigh, NC *2011-05-24 - Coalition - Brighton, England *2011-05-29 - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - Glasgow, Scotland *2011-07-13 - 1982 Bar - Gainesville, FL *2011-07-27 - Artpark - Lewiston, NY *2011-07-28 - Meadowbrook Pavilion - Gilford, NH *2011-12-16 - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA *2012-01-23 - Club Downunder - Tallahassee, FL *2012-02-03 - The Blind Tiger - Greensboro, NC *2012-02-04 - The Haw River Ballroom - Saxapahaw, NC *2012-03-09 - 35 Denton Festival - Denton, TX *2012-04-21 - The Gargoyle - St. Louis, MO *2012-05-01 - The Bakery - Perth, Australia *2012-05-04 - The Zoo - Brisbane, Australia *2012-05-06 - The Metro - Sydney, Australia *2012-05-08 - The Clarendon - Katoomba, Australia *2012-05-09 - The Toff in Town - Melbourne, Australia *2012-05-10 - The Corner Hotel - Melbourne, Australia *2012-07-01 - McCabe's Guitar Shop - Santa Monica, CA *2013-05-01 - Legends Club at Appalachian State University - Boone, NC *2013-06-12 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI *2014-04-16 - Somerville Theatre - Somerville, MA *2014-06-11 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR *2014-06-20 - Dan's Silverleaf - Denton, TX *2015-05-31 - Amoeba Records - San Francisco, CA *2016-05-12 - The Pinhook - Durham, NC *2017-12-14 - Holocene - Portland, OR *2018-05-05 - Sam's Quik Shop - Durham, NC (partial) *2019-07-20 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA *2019-08-10 - SummerStage - New York, NY *2019-08-16 - Music in the Mill - Hickory, NC *2019-09-04 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *2019-09-10 - Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR *2019-09-16 - House of Blues - Anaheim, CA Videos of this Song *2007-09-25 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, Ontario *2007-10-02 - Studio B - Brooklyn, NY *2009-10-10 - Queen Elizabeth Hall - London, England *2009-11-14 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2009-12-02 - Bell House - Brooklyn, NY *2010-08-28 - Music for Fences - Durham Central Park - Durham, NC *2010-09-04 - FYF Fest - Los Angeles State Historic Park - Los Angeles, CA *2010-09-10 - End of the Road Festival - Salisbury, England *2010-12-17 - Brome for the Holidays - King's Barcade - Raleigh, NC *2012-01-23 - Club Downunder - Tallahassee, FL *2012-03-09 - 35 Denton Festival - Denton, TX *2012-05-04 - The Zoo - Brisbane, Australia *2014-04-16 - Somerville Theatre - Somerville, MA *2014-06-20 - Dan's Silverleaf - Denton, TX Category:Tallahassee songs Category:Video Category:Alpha songs